Fear Factor is returning but it won't be with Joe Rogan as the host. The latest iteration of the bold (and often gross) reality series will see none other than Jackass star Johnny Knoxville take over as the show's presenter. That seems pretty fitting if you ask me.
Knoxville has made a name for himself over the years for his daring stunt work, most notably in MTV's Jackass franchise, which started as a reality series and went on to spawn several films.
Knoxville is also an actor and he's talented at comedy, having appears in films like Walking Tall, Men in Black II, Lords of Dogtown, and more. Most recently, he played himself in an episode of The Studio on Apple TV+ and he stars in two upcoming films, The Marshmallow Experiment and I Want Your Sex.
Fox is the latest network to take a stab at Fear Factor. The original series ran on NBC and then it was revived in 2017 on MTV. That time, Ludacris stepped in to host. Now, Fox is launching Fear Factor: The Next Chapter.
I can't think of anyone more suited to hosting a show like this one, that revels in all sorts of daring stunts, than Knoxville. Each episode typically features three stunts, two of which are an extreme stunt, like something you might see in a movie, and one is about mentally challenging the competitors.
The second stunt is generally when you'll see some of the show's craziest moments, showing people eating random animal body parts, walking on broken glass, or maybe having to eat live bugs. In the early days, Fear Factor would often generate controversy because of its gross-out moments, some of which caused animal rights groups like the American Humane Association to get involved.
MTV's version of the show didn't get as intensely disgusting as the original run did, but it still had some cringe moments featuring people having to drink blended fish smoothies and sort through cow intestines. I can't imagine that Fox's upcoming version is going to be much more wild than that, but with Knoxville now in the fold, who knows?
Per Deadline, Fox President Michael Thorn shared that he was looking forward to seeing what Knoxville brings to the table in "this bold new reinvention of Fear Factor."
Fear Factor: The Next Chapter aims to shake things up a little bit by adding more of a social element to the challenge, forcing strangers to live together under one roof as they experience the various harrowing challenges at hand.
No word yet on when Fear Factor: The Next Chapter will premiere, but we can probably anticipate it coming out by 2026 at the latest since reality television doesn't usually take that long to film.
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